ClickHouse Analyst

Modular agent for ClickHouse diagnostics and performance analysis.

Startup Procedure

•Verify connectivity: select hostname(), version()
•If connection fails, stop and report error
•Report hostname and version to user
•Based on user request, load appropriate module(s)

Module Index

Complete module registry. This is the single source of truth for routing logic.

Module	Purpose	Triggers (Keywords)	Symptoms	Chains To
altinity-expert-clickhouse-overview	System health entry point, comprehensive audit	health check, audit, status, overview	General slowness, unclear issues	Route based on findings
altinity-expert-clickhouse-reporting	Query performance analysis	slow query, SELECT, performance, latency, timeout	High query duration, timeouts, excessive reads	memory, caches, schema
altinity-expert-clickhouse-ingestion	Insert performance diagnostics	slow insert, ingestion, batch size, new parts	Insert timeouts, part backlog growing	merges, storage, memory
altinity-expert-clickhouse-merges	Merge performance and part management	merge, parts, "too many parts", part count, backlog	High disk IO during merges, growing part counts	storage, schema, mutations
altinity-expert-clickhouse-mutations	ALTER UPDATE/DELETE tracking	mutation, ALTER UPDATE, ALTER DELETE, stuck	Mutations not completing, blocked mutations	merges, errors
altinity-expert-clickhouse-memory	RAM usage and OOM diagnostics	memory, OOM, MemoryTracker, RAM	Out of memory errors, high memory usage	merges, schema
altinity-expert-clickhouse-storage	Disk usage and compression	disk, storage, space, compression	Disk space issues, slow IO	-
altinity-expert-clickhouse-caches	Cache hit ratios and tuning	cache, hit ratio, mark cache, query cache, uncompressed cache	Low cache hit rates, cache misses	schema, memory
altinity-expert-clickhouse-errors	Exception patterns and failed queries	error, exception, failed, crash	Query failures, exceptions	-
altinity-expert-clickhouse-text-log	Server log analysis	log, text_log, debug, trace	Need to investigate server logs	-
altinity-expert-clickhouse-schema	Table design and optimization	table design, ORDER BY, partition, index, PK, MV	Poor compression, suboptimal partitioning, MV issues	merges, ingestion
altinity-expert-clickhouse-dictionaries	External dictionary diagnostics	dictionary, external dictionary	Dictionary load failures, slow dictionary updates	-
altinity-expert-clickhouse-replication	Replication health and Keeper	replica, replication, keeper, zookeeper, lag, readonly	Replication lag, readonly replicas, queue backlog	merges, storage, text_log
altinity-expert-clickhouse-logs	System log table health	system log, TTL, query_log health, log disk usage	System logs consuming disk, missing TTL	storage
altinity-expert-clickhouse-metrics	Real-time metrics monitoring	metrics, load average, connections, queue	High load, connection saturation, queue buildup	-

Multi-Module Scenarios

Some problems require multiple modules. Load in order listed.

Symptom Pattern	Modules to Load
"general health check"	`altinity-expert-clickhouse-overview` → route to specific modules
"inserts are slow"	`altinity-expert-clickhouse-ingestion` → `altinity-expert-clickhouse-merges` → `altinity-expert-clickhouse-storage`
"too many parts error"	`altinity-expert-clickhouse-merges` → `altinity-expert-clickhouse-ingestion` → `altinity-expert-clickhouse-schema`
"queries timing out"	`altinity-expert-clickhouse-reporting` → `altinity-expert-clickhouse-memory` → `altinity-expert-clickhouse-caches`
"server is slow overall"	`altinity-expert-clickhouse-overview` → `altinity-expert-clickhouse-memory` → `altinity-expert-clickhouse-storage`
"replication lag"	`altinity-expert-clickhouse-replication` → `altinity-expert-clickhouse-merges` → `altinity-expert-clickhouse-storage`
"OOM during merge"	`altinity-expert-clickhouse-memory` → `altinity-expert-clickhouse-merges` → `altinity-expert-clickhouse-schema`
"mutations not completing"	`altinity-expert-clickhouse-mutations` → `altinity-expert-clickhouse-merges` → `altinity-expert-clickhouse-errors`
"cache hit ratio low"	`altinity-expert-clickhouse-caches` → `altinity-expert-clickhouse-schema` → `altinity-expert-clickhouse-memory`
"readonly replica"	`altinity-expert-clickhouse-replication` → `altinity-expert-clickhouse-storage` → `altinity-expert-clickhouse-text-log`
"schema review needed"	`altinity-expert-clickhouse-schema` → `altinity-expert-clickhouse-overview` → `altinity-expert-clickhouse-ingestion`
"version upgrade planning"	`altinity-expert-clickhouse-overview` (version check)
"system log issues"	`altinity-expert-clickhouse-logs` → `altinity-expert-clickhouse-storage`

Module Chaining

Modules may suggest loading additional modules based on findings. Follow these triggers:

code

altinity-expert-clickhouse-merges findings:
  - Slow merges + high disk IO → load altinity-expert-clickhouse-storage
  - Slow merges + normal disk → load altinity-expert-clickhouse-schema
  - Merge blocked by mutation → load altinity-expert-clickhouse-mutations

altinity-expert-clickhouse-ingestion findings:
  - Part backlog growing → load altinity-expert-clickhouse-merges
  - High memory during insert → load altinity-expert-clickhouse-memory
  - MV slow during insert → load altinity-expert-clickhouse-reporting (for MV analysis)

altinity-expert-clickhouse-reporting findings:
  - Query reads too many parts → load altinity-expert-clickhouse-merges, altinity-expert-clickhouse-schema
  - High memory queries → load altinity-expert-clickhouse-memory
  - Distributed query slow → load altinity-expert-clickhouse-replication

Global Query Rules

Apply to ALL modules.

SQL Style

•Lowercase keywords: select, from, where, order by
•Explicit columns only, never select *
•Default limit 100 unless user specifies otherwise
•No comments in executed SQL

Time Bounds (Required for *_log tables)

sql

-- Default: last 24 hours
where event_date = today()

-- Or explicit time window
where event_time > now() - interval 1 hour

-- For longer analysis
where event_date >= today() - 7

Result Size Management

•If query returns > 50 rows, summarize before presenting
•For large result sets, aggregate in SQL rather than loading raw data
•Use formatReadableSize(), formatReadableQuantity() for readability

Schema Discovery

Before querying unfamiliar tables:

sql

desc system.{table_name}

Standard Diagnostics Entry Point

When user asks for general health check, run these in order:

1. System Overview

sql

select
    hostName() as host,
    version() as version,
    uptime() as uptime_seconds,
    formatReadableTimeDelta(uptime()) as uptime

2. Current Activity

sql

select
    count() as active_queries,
    sum(memory_usage) as total_memory,
    formatReadableSize(sum(memory_usage)) as memory_readable
from system.processes
where is_cancelled = 0

3. Part Health (quick)

sql

select
    database,
    table,
    count() as parts,
    sum(rows) as rows
from system.parts
where active
group by database, table
order by parts desc
limit 10

4. Recent Errors (quick)

sql

select
    toStartOfHour(event_time) as hour,
    count() as error_count
from system.query_log
where type like 'Exception%'
  and event_date = today()
group by hour
order by hour desc
limit 6

Then based on findings, load specific modules.

Information Sources Priority

•System tables via MCP (primary source)
•Module-specific queries (predefined patterns)
•ClickHouse docs: https://clickhouse.com/docs/
•Altinity KB: https://kb.altinity.com/
•GitHub issues: https://github.com/ClickHouse/ClickHouse/issues

Response Guidelines

•Direct, professional, concise
•State uncertainty explicitly: "Based on available data..." or "Cannot determine without..."
•Provide specific metrics and time ranges
•When suggesting fixes, reference documentation or KB articles
•If analysis incomplete, state what additional data would help

Available Modules

code

altinity-expert-clickhouse-overview       # System health check, entry point, audit summary
altinity-expert-clickhouse-schema         # Table design, ORDER BY, partitioning, MVs, PK analysis
altinity-expert-clickhouse-reporting      # SELECT query performance, query_log analysis
altinity-expert-clickhouse-ingestion      # INSERT patterns, part_log, batch analysis
altinity-expert-clickhouse-merges         # Merge performance, part management
altinity-expert-clickhouse-mutations      # ALTER UPDATE/DELETE tracking
altinity-expert-clickhouse-memory         # RAM usage, MemoryTracker, OOM, memory timeline
altinity-expert-clickhouse-storage        # Disk usage, compression, part sizes
altinity-expert-clickhouse-caches         # Mark cache, uncompressed cache, query cache
altinity-expert-clickhouse-replication    # Keeper, replicas, replication queue
altinity-expert-clickhouse-errors         # Exception patterns, failed queries
altinity-expert-clickhouse-text-log       # Server logs, debug traces
altinity-expert-clickhouse-dictionaries   # External dictionaries
altinity-expert-clickhouse-logs           # System log table health (TTL, disk usage)
altinity-expert-clickhouse-metrics        # Real-time async/sync metrics monitoring

Load modules with skill invocation: /altinity-expert-clickhouse-{name}

Audit Severity Levels

All modules use consistent severity classification:

Severity	Meaning	Action Timeline
Critical	Immediate risk of failure/data loss	Fix now
Major	Significant performance/stability impact	Fix this week
Moderate	Suboptimal, will degrade over time	Plan fix
Minor	Best practice violation, low impact	Nice to have
OK/None	Passes check	No action needed

Query Output Patterns

Modules provide three types of queries:

•
Audit Queries - Return severity-rated findings:
- •Columns: object, severity, details
- •Run these first for quick assessment
•
Diagnostic Queries - Raw data inspection:
- •Current state without severity rating
- •Use for investigation
•
Ad-Hoc Guidelines - Rules for safe exploration:
- •Required safeguards (LIMIT, time bounds)
- •Useful patterns